This invention relates to surgical fastener applying apparatus, and more particularly to apparatus for substantially simultaneously applying a plurality of surgical fasteners to body tissue in a predetermined array.
Illustrative of the known devices for applying arrays of surgical fasteners are those of the type shown in Hirsch et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,275,211 and Green U.S. Pat. No. 4,402,445. The Hirsch et al. device applies a longitudinal array of metal surgical staples to body tissue clamped between a staple holder and an anvil. The Green device applies a longitudinal array of initially two-part non-metallic fasteners to body tissue similarly clamped between a fastener holder and an anvil. The term "surgical fastener" as used herein is generic to both of the foregoing types of staples or fasteners.
In some surgical procedures it is desirable to omit some of the fasteners from the array. For example, in one well known surgical procedure, an array of surgical fasteners is applied across a major portion of the stomach to reduce the capacity of the stomach. Only a relatively small lumen is left at one end of the fastener array. This procedure is facilitated by clamping across the entire stomach. However, most of the available fastener applying instruments apply fasteners substantially coextensively with the area of tissue clamped by the instrument. In order to leave the desired lumen, it is necessary to remove some of the staples from the instrument before using it. This is an undesirable added step in the use of the instrument.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide surgical fastener applying instruments in which the array of fasteners applied by the instrument can be more easily varied by the user of the instrument.
It is another object of the invention to provide surgical fastener applying instruments in which the array of fasteners applied by the instrument can be varied without removing unneeded fasteners from the instrument.